A Comparison of Preliminary Design Concepts for Liquid, Solid and Hybrid Propelled Mars Ascent Vehicles Using In-Situ Propellants Rowan University

With a mission to Mars no longer merely an idea of science fiction, it is not too early to determine the technology requirements that will ultimately make it possible for humans to establish a long term outpost on Mars. One key aspect is the development of a reliable, reusable launch vehicle to shuttle astronauts between the Mars surface and low Martian orbit. This preliminary design study serves to provide an in depth comparison of liquid, solid, and hybrid propulsion concepts for a long-term InSitu Mars Ascent Vehicle (IMAV) which relies only on propellants which can be harvested from the Mars atmosphere or soil. Because of the low ∆v, a Single Stage to Orbit (SSTO) launch vehicle can be used to carry the crew plus cargo from the Martian surface back to the command module. Theoretical chemical equilibrium calculations have been performed to determine the optimum in-situ propellant combination for each propulsion type. The approach we took in performing a comparison of the possible design configurations contained several steps. First, we identified a baseline configuration against which we compared our design. The baseline configuration we chose was the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) outlined in the current Mars Reference Mission. The second step was the addition of several constraints not specified in the baseline configuration, but which have been deemed important for this analysis. One significant constraint was that only non-hydrogen containing fuels were considered. Finally, we compared three different design alternatives to the baseline configuration. The areas of comparison were performance, safety, and feasibility. Based on these evaluation criteria, we have recommended a liquid propulsion system using CO/O2 propellants as the most favorable configuration for the development of a long-term, Mars ascent vehicle.